The Fuchsia hybrida, also known as the Lantern Flower or Hanging Begonia, belongs to the Onagraceae family, and the Evening Primrose order. Its peculiar name derives from its unique physical characteristics; unlike the Peony, Rose, or Tulip, its blossoms don’t cup upwards, but dangle downwards from the branches, much like a suspended bell.
Originally native to countries like Peru and Chile in Central and South America, it is now widely cultivated in China, particularly in greenhouses in the north or the highlands of the northwest and southwest, becoming an important floral plant. Its potted plant form is suitable for interior decoration and can also propagate roots in clear water.
Basic Introduction
The Hanging Begonia, also known as Lantern Flower, is a perennial semi-shrub with an erect stem. It stands 50-200 cm tall and measures 6-20 mm in diameter, with many branches and short soft hairs and glandular hairs that fade over time.
The young branches have a reddish tint. The leaves are ovate or narrow ovate, 3-9 cm long, and 2.5-5 cm wide. They thrive in cool, moist environments, and prefer fertile, loose, slightly acidic soil, with winter temperatures not lower than 5°C.
Native to Mexico, it is widely cultivated across the globe and particularly in greenhouses in the north or the highlands of the northwest and southwest in China. As a potted plant, it is suitable for decoration in living rooms, flower racks, and desks, and can also propagate roots in clear water.
Varieties of Hanging Begonia
There are many varieties of Hanging Begonia, with the more common ones including the Coquettish, Creeping, Short Simple, Lena, Trifoliate, Large Flower, Coral Red, and Ray’s Short Tube. Each of these eight varieties exhibits different forms and is suitable for potted cultivation at home for aesthetic purposes and air purification.
Coquettish Hanging Begonia
There are numerous varieties of Hanging Begonia, each with distinctive characteristics and flower colors. The Coquettish Hanging Begonia is a common variety, featuring a single-petal flower. The sepals are a light cherry red, while the corolla and flower center of the Coquettish Hanging Begonia are rose-purple.
The Creeping Hanging Begonia is a common potted variety. Its growth habits and form are similar to those of regular varieties, but its corolla and flower center are apricot yellow, offering a unique ornamental value. It can be bought and maintained at home.
In the list of Hanging Begonia varieties, the Short Simple Hanging Begonia stands out. Its flower stem is relatively short compared to others, and it’s bright red, with purple petals. The Short Simple Hanging Begonia is widely loved and is suitable for potted cultivation.
The Lena Hanging Begonia is a superior variety, quite unique compared to others. Its flower stems and sepals are mostly white, with a few light pink ones, and the corolla is blue-violet, mixed with pink spots. It’s highly adaptable to different environments and is widely distributed across the country.
The Trifoliate Hanging Begonia is a low, densely growing shrub variety with robust vitality, especially in terms of cold resistance. Its leaves are mostly in groups of three, remaining green all year round, with the leaf backs being a bright red-brown. Even without blooming, it possesses high ornamental value, and when it does bloom, the flowers are vermillion.
The Large Flower Hanging Begonia is widely distributed in most areas of the country, especially in the hot regions of the south. Its flower tube is dark red, and its petals are red or white. It is mostly used as a horticultural variety, and its large floral form offers high ornamental value.
The Coral Red Hanging Begonia is a fairly common variety, notable for its strong cold and drought resistance. Its leaves are relatively dull, and the majority of its flowers are bright red. The flower corolla of the Coral Red Hanging Begonia is violet, deeply loved by people, and can be displayed at home as an ornamental plant.
Among its varieties, Lei’s Short Tube Hanging Begonia is a superior one, distinguished by its extremely small leaves. When growing in a pot, it needs to be supported, and its branches naturally droop. The flowers that bloom are bright red, making it suitable for potted cultivation.
It prefers cool, moist environments, and avoids high temperatures and strong sunlight. It dislikes intense summer heat, stuffiness, and rain-exposed sun exposure. It thrives in fertile, loose, slightly acidic soil rich in humus with good drainage.
In winter, it requires a warm, moist environment with ample sunlight and air circulation. In summer, it prefers dry, cool, and semi-shaded conditions, maintaining a certain level of air humidity.
Its growth slows significantly when summer temperatures reach 30°C (86°F), and large numbers wilt and die at 35°C (95°F). In winter, temperatures should not drop below 5°C (41°F) to avoid frost damage.
Originally from Peru, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, and other Central and South American countries; it is widely cultivated in China, especially in the north, or in greenhouses in the northwest and southwest plateaus. It has become an important ornamental plant.
It is a semi-shrub with an erect stem, 50-200 cm in height, 6-20 mm in thickness, branched, covered with short soft hairs and glandular hairs.
As it matures, it becomes glabrous, and the young branches have a reddish hue. The leaves are opposite, ovate or narrow ovate, 3-9 cm long, 2.5-5 cm wide, the larger ones in the middle, tapering at the apex, shallowly heart-shaped or bluntly round at the base, the edge with shallow teeth or protrusions.
The veins often have a reddish color, with 6-11 pairs of lateral veins, looped near the edge, and covered with short soft hairs on both surfaces, especially below the veins; the petiole is 2-3.5 cm long, often reddish, covered with short soft hairs and glandular hairs; the stipules are narrowly ovate to lanceolate, about 1.5 mm long, and fall off early.
The flowers are bisexual, single, rarely paired, growing at the apex of the stem and leaf axils, drooping; the flower stalk is slender, light green or reddish, 3-7 cm long; the flower tube is red, tubular, larger at the top, 1-2 cm long, 3-5 mm in diameter, sparsely covered with short soft hairs and glandular hairs together with the flower stalk; the calyx has 4 pieces, red, long oval or triangular lanceolate, 2-3 cm long, 4-8 mm wide, gradually narrowing at the apex, reflexed when opened; the petals are variable in color, purple-red, red, pink, white, arranged in a tile-like pattern, wide inverted ovate, 1-2.2 cm long, slightly concave at the apex; there are 8 stamens, the outer ones are longer, the filaments are red, those protruding from the flower tube are 1.8-3 cm long, the anthers are purple-red, long oval, 2-3 mm long, about 1 mm in diameter, the pollen is pink; the ovary is inverted ovate oblong, 5-6 mm long, 3-4 mm in diameter, sparsely covered with soft hairs and glandular hairs, 4 chambers, each with many ovules; the style is red, 4-5 cm long, encircled at the base by a green shallow cup-shaped floral disc; the stigma is rod-shaped, brown, about 3 mm long, about 1.5 mm in diameter, with 4 shallow slits at the top.
The fruit is purple-red, inverted ovate oblong, about 1 cm long. The flowering period is from April to December.
1. Soil Selection
The pot soil should be a mixture of sandy garden soil, humus, and farmyard manure in equal parts. Every spring, before the peak growing season, the plant should be repotted and the soil replaced. Some of the pot soil should be removed and some of the old roots trimmed.
Depending on the size of the plant, a slightly larger flowerpot should be used, and the prepared pot soil replenished. The soil should be loose and fertile, with good drainage. If there is water accumulation, the plant can easily die from root rot. The soil should be loosened appropriately in spring and autumn.
2. Fertilization
Hanging Begonia likes fertilizer. When potting, it is suitable to mix 4 parts of leaf rot soil, 3 parts of garden soil, 2 parts of river sand, and 1 part of decomposed cake fertilizer into a cultivation soil, without the need for additional base fertilizer, to avoid root rot; the soil should be turned over and replaced once a year in spring.
Hanging Begonia grows quickly and can continue to bloom continuously, so during the growing period, it should be fertilized every 7 to 10 days with 10% to 15% cake fertilizer water, or thin liquid fertilizer combined with nitrogen and phosphorus.
The concentration should be 0.1% to 0.2% urea water plus 0.3% to 0.5% calcium superphosphate soaking solution, or 0.1% to 0.2% urea water plus 0.1% to 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate fertilizer water. If the nutrition is insufficient, it will be difficult to bloom again after blooming once.
3. Watering
Pay attention to watering, the pot soil should be kept moist during the growing period. The principle of “seeing dry and wet” should generally be followed when watering Hanging Begonia. During the flowering period, the pot soil is too dry or too wet, which can easily cause bud drop, flower drop, or leaf drop.
Long-term excessive moisture in the pot soil can also cause root rot, yellow leaves, and even plant death. In winter, when the room temperature is below 10°C, watering should be strictly controlled and fertilization stopped to prevent root rot. The soil should be loosened and ventilated promptly after each fertilization and watering.
4. Light and Temperature Requirements
In summer, the plant should be placed in a cool and ventilated place, and the suitable temperature is 15-25°C. In winter, the room temperature should be maintained above 10°C, and the plant may be frost-damaged below 5°C. When the temperature is below 10°C in autumn, it should be placed indoors for care.
The light should not be too strong, especially in summer, to avoid long exposure to direct sunlight, which can cause the leaves to curl and die.
5. Safe Summering
Safely passing through the summer is key to the successful cultivation of hanging begonia. In summer, hanging begonia should be moved indoors or to shaded, well-ventilated areas.
Hanging begonia prefers a cool climate and is most afraid of high temperatures, sunlight and rain in summer. When the temperature exceeds 30°C, metabolic activities slow down, growth stagnates, and issues such as leaf drop and root rot are common.
If effective measures are not taken in time, it may lead to the death of the whole plant. Here are some maintenance and management measures for hanging begonia to safely pass through the summer:
(1) Shade and Ventilation: After entering summer, provide shading to avoid direct sunlight and enhance ventilation by placing it in a cool, well-ventilated place.
(2) Cooling and Humidification: For household potted plants, you can move the flower pot to a cool, rain-sheltered place that is ventilated, or place it on the north balcony or under the eaves where scattered light can be seen.
It can also be placed indoors in a cool, ventilated place where there is some sunlight. When the temperature exceeds 22°C, spray water on the leaf surface 1-2 times a day; when the temperature exceeds 25°C, spray water 3-4 times, and sprinkle water 2-3 times around the flower pot to reduce the temperature and increase air humidity.
(3) Control of Fertilizer and Water: When the temperature exceeds 25°C, stop fertilizing to avoid root rot.
Generally, during the high-temperature season from June to August, stop fertilizing, limit watering, and keep the pot soil slightly dry. If the potting soil is often in a too moist state or stuffy and not ventilated, it will cause the plant leaves to turn yellow and scorched, or even root rot and death.
(4) Prevent Rainfall: After the rain, it is easy to cause root rot and leaf drop.
(5) Cultivation of New Seedlings: The perennial old plants of hanging begonia are sensitive to high temperatures, but the seedlings have stronger heat resistance, and they often don’t lose leaves in the dog days, so cultivating new seedlings by cutting every year is beneficial for it to safely pass through the summer. This is a more proactive measure.
6. Pinching
Timely pinching is an important measure to make hanging begonia lush and blooming. In spring and autumn, the plant should be topped and pinched to promote branching, making the plant full and increasing the amount of flowering.
Since hanging begonia has the habit of budding in the axils of new shoots, pinching can stimulate the germination of new buds, more branching, more blooming, and a full plant shape.
Pinching should start from the seedling stage.
Generally, when the seedling grows to about 10 cm, the first pinching is performed to promote branching. About 30 days after the first pinching, when the new branch has 6-8 leaves, the second pinching is performed, and each plant retains about 5 lateral branches, removing excess lateral buds.
After the autumn cools, the too long branches can be shortened, and the too dense branches can be thinned to promote the growth of robust new branches. Each time after pruning, watering should be controlled, and normal watering can be resumed after new branches grow out from the leaf axils.
In the season suitable for growth, new shoots can bloom again 15-20 days after pinching, so multiple pinchings also have the effect of extending the flowering period.
Usually, after the early summer flowers, prune heavily, and when it cools in autumn and enters the room, trim the plant shape appropriately and remove excess new buds.
Some easy-to-set-fruit varieties can be propagated by seeding. Seedlings are sowed in the greenhouse in spring and autumn using a seedling tray.
The broadcasting method is used, and under the temperature condition of 15-20°C, it takes about 15 days to germinate. If sowed in spring, it will bloom the following year.
Cuttings are very easy to root, and the survival rate of one-year-old branches is the highest. Cutting is generally carried out in spring and autumn. Cut healthy tips 5-8cm long as cuttings, retain 2 small leaves, cut off the rest, then insert them into plain sand soil.
They should be 1.2cm into the soil and shaded for heat and moisture retention. Under the condition of 15-28°C, all can take root in about 15 days. In summer, cuttings often lead to rotting and death of cuttings, with a low survival rate.
You can use shoot tips and top tender leaves as explants for tissue culture propagation.
Ornamental
Due to its unique shape, Hanging Begonia offers a more impressive visual effect than other similar plants, so its main use is for ornamental purposes. It can be potted and placed in the living room or on a table. Placing this plant in a room can add vitality without being overly tacky, so it is worth considering for purchase.
In addition, it grows well. You can cut it directly and put it in a vase. In this way, it will grow new roots in the vase, and then you can transplant it into a new pot, thus creating a new plant. Needless to say, it makes an excellent potted plant. Because it is elegant, it can also be used for decoration in other places, placing it in parks or courtyards is a great choice.
Purification
As it is a green plant, it has certain effects on air purification. When there is light, it can absorb CO2 and release O2, significantly increasing the O2 concentration in the space, giving us a better breathing experience.
Medicinal
In fact, it can be used for medicinal purposes. The most exquisite part of it is its flowers. In addition to looking outstanding, it also has a good medicinal effect.
Generally speaking, it is useful for bruises and rheumatism. If someone is tormented by these two for a long time, they can crush its petals and apply them to the affected area.
Besides, it can also treat women’s menstrual irregularities. If the menstrual period is rare, it can also be used. Additionally, postpartum breast pain and itching symptoms can be relieved with its powder.
The flower language of Hanging Begonia is “Believe in Love,” representing a longing for a beautiful love. It can be gifted to wish someone to believe in love or to give to a lover to express commitment.
It also has the flower language of “Ardent Heart,” representing a passionate love; “Optimistic and Positive” is one of its flower languages too, which can be gifted to friends, wishing them to live an optimistic life.
Peggie was once a high school mathematics teacher, but she set aside her chalkboard and textbooks to follow her lifelong passion for flowers. After years of dedication and learning, she not only established a thriving flower shop but also founded this blog, “Flowers Library”. If you have any questions or wish to learn more about flowers, feel free to contact Peggie.
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